


Misfits

by orphan_account



Category: Saturday Night Live RPF
Genre: Angst, M/M, Secret Crush, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 06:58:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3240557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete wasn't kidding when he said Colin was a "ten."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misfits

**Author's Note:**

> All because of this:
> 
> http://meredithdraper.tumblr.com/post/109181533575/what-is-the-ship-name-for-pete-colin

“Hey, man. Why are you sitting over here by yourself?” Pete asks.

He sets his lunch down next to Colin, who’s sitting removed from the rest of the various groups, which is odd since Colin is so friendly and cool.

“Oh, hey. How’s it going? Yeah, uh, everyone was kind of sharing their favorite Kristen Wiig stories, and then their favorite Fred Armisen stories, and then their favorite Bill Hader stories, so I kinda just moved over here and no one noticed.”

Pete takes a bite of his sandwich.

“I noticed.”

Colin smiles.

“You did. Why?”

“I don’t know, man. I like talking to you. Plus you’re like the only other young guy here, and you’re still ten years older than me. And you’re cool.”

“We're a couple of misfits. What's the matter with misfits? That's where we fit in!”

“ _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_?”

Colin shrugs.

“I thought it was fitting.”

Pete laughs before chiming in, “They can't fire me; I quit! Seems I don't fit in!”

Pete picks up his can of Coke, and Colin grabs his apple Snapple, and they clink the beverages together in morbid camaraderie.

They sit in silence before Colin speaks.

“You’re not really gonna quit, are you?”

“Are you kidding me? Not a snowball’s chance in hell!”

Colin ducks his head.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’m tired of being the new guy. In theory, I get the whole ‘low man on the totem pole,’ but that doesn’t make it suck any less.”

Pete bumps his shoulder into Colin.

“I plan on being here for a long time, bro. I hope we can keep being friends, too.”

Colin looks, really looks, Pete in the eye at the way he says “friends.” It sounds…different, for some reason, from the tone of the rest of the conversation. As if there was a whole other layer to this dialogue that he had completely missed out on.

When Pete puts a hand on his back, all speculation flushes away like a cold stream.

“Oh.”

“I wasn’t kidding about you being a ten, you know. I like you, but I guess I also _like_ you, okay? But if I’m missing signals here, stop me before I make things worse. It would suck if I’m being an asshole and don’t even know it.”

This is a lot to take in. And people must be noticing them by now. It hits him that anyone could be watching. He moves a few inches away from Pete.

“Maybe this isn’t appropriate for work,” he says.

The minute it leaves his mouth, he regrets it. Even if he really didn’t feel that way about the kid, there were a million other ways he could have let him down. Something softer and kinder, at the very least.

Pete is crestfallen, but he puts on a brave face anyway.

“Right. You’re totally right. I’m sorry, dude.”

He picks up his lunch and throws it away, even though he still had half a sandwich left. Pete grabs his laptop and heads down the hall.

Beck walks over when Pete is out of sight.

“What did you say to him?” he asks with curiosity.

Colin’s stomach feels like lead and his tongue feels thick with shame. He hopes his face isn’t red.

“N-nothing. I don’t know.”

It’s obvious Beck doesn’t believe him, but he doesn’t push the issue, obviously sensing the tension between the two of them. He nods slowly before going back to his computer in the corner.

Stupidly, his brain reminds him of the line in the song: “Seems I don’t fit in…”

Colin chews his lip as he eyes the door, hoping Pete comes back and wishing he wouldn’t.


End file.
